should be conferred only to reward merit or
fulfil real public charity. All pensions were to be paid at the
exchequer. He proposed also that the civil list should be divided into
classes, an arrangement which later was carried into effect. In 1780
Burke succeeded in bringing in his Establishment Bill; but though at
first it met with considerable support, and was even read a second time,
Lord North's government defeated it in committee. The next year the bill
was again introduced into the House of Commons, and Pitt made his first
speech in its favour. The bill was, however, lost on the second reading.

Civil List Act 1782.

In 1782 the Rockingham ministry, pledged to economic reform, came into
power; and the Civil List Act 1782 was introduced and carried with the
express object of limiting the patronage and influence of ministers, or,
in other words, the ascendancy of the crown over parliament. Not only
did the act effect the abolition of a number of useless offices, but it
also imposed restraints on the issue of secret service money, and made
provision for a more effectual supervision of the royal expenditure. As
to the pension list, the annual amount was to be limited to L95,000; no
pension to any one person was to exceed L1200, and all pensions were to
be paid at the exchequer, thus putting a stop to the secret pensions
payable during pleasure. Moreover, pensions were only to be bestowed in
the way of royal bounty for persons in distress or as a reward for
merit. Another very important change was made by this act: the civil
list was divided into classes, and a fixed amount was to be appropriated
to each class. The following were the classes:--

1. Pensions and allowances of the royal family.
2. Payment of salaries of lord chancellor, speaker and judges.
3. Salaries of ministers to foreign courts resident at the same.
4. Approved bills of tradesmen, artificers and labourers for any
article supplied and work done for His Majesty's service.
5. Menial servants of the household.
6. Pension list.
7. Salaries of all other places payable out of the civil list revenues.
8. Salaries and pensions of treasurer or commissioners of the
treasury and of the chancellor of the exchequer.

Yet debt was still the condition of the civil list down to the end of
the reign, in spite of the reforms established by the Rockingham
ministry, and notwithstanding the removal from the list of many charges
unconnect